Last Chance Saloon
by Magick Starr
Summary: COMPLETE. When a strong friendship goes horrible wrong, will a training weekend bring them closer together, or just push them even further apart? Warning: femmeslash
1. Chapter 1

A/N: There was a competition on another site, that sadly I missed, but I thought the theme sounded good, so I'm going to have a go anyway!

'Grateful? Grateful? You thought I'd be grateful?' Sam had attempted to not raise her voice, but she could no longer contain herself, the entire CID turning around to hear her latest feud with Jo.

'I was trying to help. I just thought that maybe you could do with a hand.'

'A hand? Well next time you feel like giving me a hand, give me a hand! Don't screw up my investigation.'

'That wasn't all down to me, Guv.'

'Wasn't all down to you? I'm sorry, I must be hearing things. You storm in, scare off my witness, alert the dealers we're on to them, and then if that's not bad enough, your actions result in DC Webb being hospitalised. In what way was that not all down to you?'

'Guv, DC Webb knew exactly what he was stepping into. I didn't put him under false pretences, he was well aware of the possible consequences and still chose to visit Feverton with no back up. That's not down to me.'

'Are you saying DC Webb's accident was his own fault?'

'No Guv. I'm saying I'm not responsible for it. The only person responsible for Mickey's condition is Feverton or whatever hired help he used.'

'Well, why haven't you arrested Feverton then DC Masters?'

'You know full well why. We've had to assume he's left the country.'

'And why is that?'

'Because I was too busy stopping Mickey from bleeding to death to put a call in for the ports and airports to be put on alert. Is that such a bad thing?'

'It is considering Feverton has probably fled the country unnoticed. How's that gonna look?'

'Not quite as bad as an officer dying because the new DI couldn't handle a major drugs operation I suppose. That's probably how it'll look.'

'Are you saying I can't do my job DC Masters?'

'I'm saying…'

'That's enough ladies.' Jack boomed, having walked into the CID office to find Jo and Sam screaming at each other in the middle of the room, everyone else either watching or attempting to busy themselves with some work.

'Guv, Jo has just ruined the best chance we had of catching Feverton.'

'Sam has just screamed her head off at me for saving Mickey's life.'

The two women acted as small children, each giving forward an argument for why the other was responsible. Jack merely sighed at the pair of them. 'My office. Both of you. Now!' He turned and left the room, Sam and Jo sheepishly following him.

'Take a seat.' he offered, signalling towards the two empty chairs opposite his desk.

Sam and Jo took a chair each, sighing as the other settled themselves.

'Now would one of you like to explain what that was all about back there?'

'Guv, she just…' both had started at the same time, stopping when they realised the other was talking.

'Jo just ruined my investigation.'

'Sam just yelled at me for saving DC Webb's life.'

'That's not true.'

'Oh yes it is.'

'Ladies, ladies, please. Could we exercise a bit of decorum? Now, I obviously wont get a decent version of events out of either of you if the other keeps interrupting. So, Sam can you please tell me what happened. Jo, you can have your say in a minute.'

'Jo just single-handedly screwed up my investigation. She frightened off the main witness, alerted the dealers to our investigation, and put Mickey in hospital.'

'Well, I've just been to see DC Webb, and he's adamant it was his own choice to go into the building alone, nothing to do with Jo. So, what have you got to say for yourself DC Masters?'

'I was trying to help Sam out because I knew she had a lot on. I went to speak to the witness and she caged up, I did nothing to aggravate her. It was not my fault that Feverton found out about the investigation. It was in fact Sam's carelessness that led to that, not mine, she just won't admit it. And I was not responsible for Mickey's attack, I'll accept that I could have been there as back up, but I wasn't informed of his intentions, so that would have proved quite difficult to provide back up.'

Sam's mouth was hanging open, 'My carelessness? My carelessness? You screw up my investigation and it was my carelessness that caused that?'

'Yes. I didn't bug the guy's phone, you did. If he hadn't found that he would have been none the wiser.'

'I only did that becau…'

'Wait a minute.' Sam found herself interrupted by Jack, but was sensible enough to remain calm. 'You bugged his phone?'

Sam bit her bottom lip, knowing full well what was coming next. 'Yes Guv.'

'Why did I not receive the form for that?'

'Because I didn't fill one out Guv.'

'Why not, DI Nixon? You know the procedures.'

'Yes Guv, I just had a lot on my hands and didn't have time to fill out a form.'

'But you still had time to find someone to fit the bug?'

'Yes Guv, sorry Guv, I just…'

'I don't want your excuses Samantha, just think more carefully next time, okay?'

'Yes Guv.'

'Right, now, you two. I thought you'd resolved your differences. You've been friends since before Jo went to Nottingham, what's changed? And don't say this investigation, either of you, because it's not this. I can tell there's something else, now what is it?'

Sam and Jo both remained silent. Jo knew exactly what it was that had changed for her and Sam through her eyes, she fancied Sam, maybe even something more than that. But she had to ask herself what had changed for Sam, she knew it couldn't be the same reason.

Sam unintentionally contorted her face into a puzzled expression, clearly thinking to herself. She couldn't figure out why she felt different around Jo since she returned from Nottingham, every single action of Jo's affected her, the more she mucked up, the angrier Sam was. The more cases she solved, the prouder Sam was; she really couldn't figure out why.

'Okay, well, let me see if I've got something that can fix this. I'll speak to you later when I gather the whole team. Now get back to your work, both of you.'

'Yes Guv.'

'Guv.' Sounds ominous, Sam thought to herself, hurriedly exiting the room behind Jo.

Jo leaned against a wall the moment she got out of the office, aggravating Sam who pushed past her with a huff. Shutting her eyes, Jo thought back to her argument with Sam. As much as Sam was annoying her, she'd hated yelling back at her. If truth were told, Jo had to admit she thought she had feelings for Sam. But how would that ever work out? She hated not telling people when she liked them, it made her feel like she was lying to herself, but if she told Sam she'd only give her more fuel against her. There was no way Sam was remotely interested in any woman, least of all her, and if she told Sam she knew it would end in no one's heartbreak but her own.

Sam flopped into her office chair; relieved Neil was out at the moment. She couldn't help thinking back to their argument. She'd said some horrible things to Jo, and she couldn't work out why. She liked her, Jo was a good friend, so why was she being so passionate in her hate for her now? the only possible conclusion she could draw was that somehow Jo had changed since she went to Nottingham, and that meant she was no longer the person Sam knew and liked. But somehow that didn't seem right. Sam didn't believe that Jo had changed, if anyone had changed it had been her, ever since Jo came back, but why?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

'Right everyone. I've got a bit of news that might please some of you, and annoy others. I've been given a chance to take some of you on a team building weekend.' Jack smiled slightly to himself as moans from around the office broke the silence, no one seeming too enthusiastic. 'I thought I might get that reaction, and I'm afraid it gets worse. You're going to be in pairs. Now I've paired up people I feel could use a little bonding time.'

Sam and Jo both let out a sigh, realising this was what jack was referring to earlier.

'Guv, me and Sam haven't been getting along too well lately, I think we could use a little bonding time.'

'Nice try Stuart, but the pairs are already sorted out, you're with Phil. And I think by the look on her face, Sam has already worked out who she's paired with.' He grinned in Sam's direction, earning himself nothing but a glare from the blonde DI.

Stuart turned to face Phil, 'No way.'

'No Guv, I can't work with Stuart.' Phil pleaded.

'That's exactly why you're paired together, to make sure by the end of the weekend you can work together. Now, Kezia, I've paired you up with Terry, purely because you two haven't worked together much and I had some spare places. And Sam, Jo, you're together, see if we can get rid of any tensions after that outburst earlier.'

'Great.' Jo mumbled to herself, there was no way she could last an entire weekend with Sam.

'I'm not exactly looking forward to it.' Sam commented, having heard the DC sitting next to her.

'This is never gonna work Sam.'

'Don't I know it.'

'Ladies, ladies, I'm hoping this weekend can find your friendship, not fuel your feud, can you at least try and get along?'

'Guv.'

'Yes Guv.' Jo answered with a sigh.

'Good, because it's this weekend.'

'What? Guv, I think I'm busy.'

'Yeah, nice try Phil, but you are going, and you're going to get along with Stuart. Even if I have to lock you in the room for the entire weekend.'

Jo climbed onto the minibus, annoyed to find that Jack had enforced sitting next to your pair. Sighing, she sat down in the seat next to Sam, pulling out her I-pod and putting the headphones in, not even acknowledging the blonde. Not being bothered to flick through the play list, she set it to random, shutting her eyes and relaxing back into the seat.

From behind these walls I hear your song, oh sweet words 

_The music that you play lights up my world_

_The sweetest that I've ever heard_

_Could it be that I've been touched and turned, oh lord please_

_Finally, finally things are changing_

_This land is mine but I'll let you rule_

_I'll let you navigate and demand_

_Just as long as you know, this land is mine_

_So find your home and settle in_

_Oh I'm ready to let you in_

_Just as long as we know, this land is mine_

_After all the battles and the wars, the scars and loss_

_I am still the queen of my domain_

_And feeling stronger now_

_The walls are down a little more each day, since you came_

_Finally, finally thing are changing_

Jo felt herself being shook slightly. Fluttering her eyes open, she looked up to see Sam standing over her, tapping her foot impatiently. 'Come on Jo, get up. We're here, hurry up, I can't get out.' Jo sighed, she'd hoped this weekend was going to slightly ease the tensions between them, but they hadn't even got out the minibus and Sam was already moaning.

'Alright, alright.' Jo responded, blinking slightly before pulling herself up and moving out the way so Sam could get out. The blonde stormed past her, almost knocking Jo backwards but offering no apology, merely calling back at her to hurry up.

Jo groaned to herself, dreading the weekend to come. She climbed off the bus, only to find the others standing about two feet away, Jack preparing to make some kind of speech. Joining the crowd she stood next to Phil, the male seeming glad that she'd separated him from Stuart for the time being.

'Right everyone. As this is paid for by the Met, you can probably guess they've saved on as much as they can, so I'm afraid you're going to be sharing rooms.'

'Phil turned to Jo, giving her a pleading look, 'Share with me, please, I can't cope with Stuart.'

Jo shrugged her shoulders, nodding briefly, relaxing slightly at the fact she wouldn't be with Sam all the time.

'Sam, you wanna share with me?' Stuart asked, calling to the blonde across from him. 'We can make it nice and cosy.'

Sam just rolled her eyes, sighing before responding, 'Fine.'

'Um, sorry guys, but you're gonna be sharing with you're pairs. Sam, you'll be with Jo, Phil with Stuart, Kezia with Terry. Go in through this door, reception's on your left. You can go up to your rooms and get settled in before coming down for dinner. It'll be served at seven, so you've got a good couple of hours.' Jack smiled slightly before heading towards the reception himself, relieved he had his own room and wouldn't have to listen to the others squabbling for a couple of hours at least.

'Oh, oh no, I'm afraid you're room's been double booked.' The receptionist admitted hesitantly. 'I don't know how that's happened. Sorry.'

'Oh, it's okay, we'll just go home, not that bothered anyway. Thanks for your help.' Sam called over her shoulder as she headed away from the desk, only to find herself called back by the receptionist.

'Don't worry, we've got a room that's not being used, you can have that one.' She offered with a beaming smile.

Sam and Jo both sighed, 'Go on then, keys?' Jo asked.

'Yes, here you go.' She handed over two sets of keys, a smile still across her face.

Jo took them out her hands, handing one set over to Sam before heading in the direction they'd been pointed.

After climbing the stairs, Jo turned left and found the door they were looking for. It seemed to be in the other direction to everyone else, that meant she couldn't just pop over to Phil's room when Sam got too much, but at least maybe that would force them to sort out their differences.

'Jo hurry up and open the door.'

Jo raised her eyebrows, maybe not. Putting the key in the lock and turning it, she opened the door, taking a few steps forward before stopping dead in her tracks, causing Sam to walk straight into her.

'Jo, don't just…' Sam trailed off, belatedly noticing what Sam had seen. 'Oh God, no way. That's it, we're getting another room.' She turned back around and walked out, leaving Jo little choice but to follow her.

When Sam reached the reception desk she slammed the keys down on the surface. 'No way. We need another room.'

The receptionist jumped slightly, recoiling slightly at Sam's shouts.

'Sorry about her.' Jo said breathlessly, having just caught up with Sam, the blonde having run down the stairs. 'What she means is that the room isn't exactly… practical, if you get my drift.'

'I'm sorry ladies, it's the only one we've got left, you're gonna have to put up with it, you're only staying for the two nights though, aren't you? Not too long.' She added hopefully.

'I don't care how long we're staying, I'm not sharing a bed with her.' Sam shouted. Jo tried to walk away for a moment, not wished to be associated with Sam, her shouts causing everyone around them to stare. 'Oi, come back here Jo, you are not leaving until this is sorted. I'm not sharing a double bed with you.'

Jo sighed, wincing slightly as she saw Jack coming around the corner.

'DI Nixon, I thought I heard you're screams. What's happened Jo? Why is she scaring the receptionist?' he motioned towards the young woman behind the desk, almost cowering in her chair.

'Oh you know Sam Guv, she scares everyone with just one look.'

'DC Masters.' He warned, trying to fight back a chuckle.

'Sorry. There was a bit of confusion with our room. We got given another one and it's got a double bed.'

'Oh, I see. Well, sorry Sam, but you're not going now you've got here, unless there's another room…' He raised his eyebrows hopefully in the receptionist's direction, the young women feebly shaking her head. 'No, right, well, I'm afraid you're sharing.'

'No way Gu…'

'Sam, that was an order, not a request. Now get upstairs, both of you.' He added, looking in Jo's direction, the brunette still attempting to quietly retreat.

'Guv.' They both responded before heading back up the way they came.

The moment they were out of earshot, Sam stopped, turning around to face Jo behind her. 'No way Jo. I'm not sharing a bed with you.'

'Looks like you're gonna have to Sam, unless of course you want to sleep on the floor.'

'Me on the floor? Why not you?'

'Because I don't have a problem with sharing a bed.'

'Oh well you wouldn't, would you?' Sam muttered, though it was intentionally loud enough for Jo to hear.

'And what does that mean?' the brunette asked, her voice raised.

'You know what I mean.' Sam replied maliciously, 'Keep your wandering hands on your side of the bed.'

'You what?'

'I don't have feelings for you Jo, I'm straight.'

'I don't have feelings for you Sam.' Jo retorted hastily, 'I don't go for bikes.' Jo winced the moment she'd said it, wishing she could take it back, not meaning what she said, but replying in anger.

'Bike? And what does that mean?'

'Just because you've been out with half the station, doesn't mean everyone wants a piece of you.' Jo replied viciously, not in control of the words coming out her mouth.

'Ladies!' Jack called, standing about two steps below them. 'Can I not even trust you to go to your room without another argument breaking out? Stop acting like children and get up there now, I don't want to here a word out of you again unless it's nice, understand?'

'Yes Guv.' They both responded, sheepishly heading up the stairs towards their room.

Entering the room for the second time, Sam flopped onto the bed, shutting her eyes briefly before looking up, seeing Jo pacing the room. Sighing, she sat back up, 'What's wrong?'

Jo noted a slight interest and possibly even concern in her voice, but didn't mention it, deciding that as long as Sam was remaining civil, she'd do nothing to ruin it. 'Oh, just thinking.'

'Anything you want to share?'

'Oh, nothing particularly important, just wondering what we'll be doing on this weekend.'

'Oh. Dunno really, but I did notice something that looks suspiciously like a makeshift army training centre about five minutes walk from here when we drove past.'

'Oh no. They wouldn't, would they?'

'Wouldn't put it past them.' Sam concluded, lying back down on the double bed.

Jo wanted nothing more than to collapse on the bed too, but feared it would aggravate Sam. Sighing, she sat in a chair at the other end of the small room, picking up a paper that had been left on the side.

Sam bit her lip, she knew this was going to be painful, but if se wanted the weekend to be even slightly bearable, she knew she was going to have to do it. Sitting back up, she opened her mouth, though shut it again quickly.

Jo frowned, having seen Sam over the top of the paper, 'Um, nice fish impression Sam. Did you want to say something?' she made her voice as polite as possible, not wanting to sound rude.

'Oh, um, yeah. I just wanted to say sorry.'

'What for?'

'What I said back at the station, y'know, the argument that got us here in the first place. I'm sorry, I know you were trying to help, I should have been grateful.'

'Oh, that's okay. I guess you were probably stressed.' Jo replied, slightly annoyed, thinking Sam was about to apologise for what she'd said on the stairs, but obviously not.

'Yeah, I was a little. Sorry.'


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews again! I've just realised that in my eagerness to upload the last chapter, I forgot to credit the song. It was 'This Land Is Mine' by Dido.

After what Sam considered quite an uneventful and smooth meal, with only one outburst from herself and Jo after a rather unfortunate incident regarding the asparagus tips, the two women return to their room. As Sam entered the room behind Jo, she headed straight to the small en-suite, calling out that she was using the shower.

In response to Sam's announcement, Jo flopped onto the bed, shutting her eyes briefly before sitting bolt upright, remembering that she'd left her washed underwear drying in the bathroom. She was just about to warn Sam when she heard a piercing scream from the small room adjoining the bedroom, Jo realising this meant she'd remembered just too late.

As the door flung open, Sam waltzed back into the bedroom, her face waiting to shatter a nearby mirror. 'Jo, get your underwear out of the bathroom!' came the blaring scream from the blonde.

'Sorry, forgot it was there.' Jo responded meekly, heading to the en-suite, though ending up stopping in her tracks, trying to figure out if she'd heard Sam's last comment correctly. 'Did you say something?' she asked, pivoting around to face Sam, a glare covering her face.

'And what if I did?'

'What did you say?'

'It doesn't matter.'

'Yes it does, Sam. What did you say?' Jo's voice was steadily raising with anger.

Sam, realising that she wasn't going to let it drop, allowed her voice to gain anger too, sensing another argument was now to come. 'I said I feel like you're trying to seduce me.'

'Why the hell would I do that Sam?' Jo asked, her voice loud enough for her to be heard back in Sun Hill if they listened carefully enough.

'Well you're… y'know…' Sam paused, wondering if their was anyway to answer without insulting Jo yet again.

'A lesbian?' Jo finished for Sam.

'Yeah.' Sam replied quietly, turning away from Jo as she did.

'So why haven't you been like this before, Sam?' Jo asked, placing her hands on the blonde's shoulders to turn the blonde back around to face her.

'What… what do you mean?' Sam asked shakily, having been asking herself that very same question recently and drawing a conclusion she was not best fond of.

'All the times you and me have been out for a drink together, or been round each other's houses for a drink and a chat, times like that, why haven't you been scared I'd come onto you then?'

'I… I don't know. I just… I feel like you've changed… since you've come back from Nottingham… it… it just hasn't been the same.'

Jo noticed the hesitancy and shakiness of Sam's voice, staring deep into the blonde's eyes, she asked, 'But have I changed, Sam, or you?'

Sam stared back into Jo's green eyes for a while, no words escaping either of their mouths, their visions locked on one another. Sam found herself leaning slightly forward, her breath quickening slightly as she felt Jo's own breath on her cheek. The blonde shut her eyes, taking in the scent of Jo's perfume before opening them again, taking a step forward until their bodies were mere millimetres apart. She looked into Jo's eyes once more, leaning towards Jo once again.

Jo felt her heart rate rapidly increasing at Sam's close proximity, her stomach filled with butterflies. She leant forward, never breaking the precious eye contact between herself and Sam. As their lips grew closer and closer together, Jo was ready to initiate the kiss, pausing slightly when she heard a noise from outside the door.

Sam noticed Jo pause, her heart sinking as she thought maybe Jo wasn't interested and she'd made a complete fool out of herself. It was only when a knock came at the door that Sam realised why Jo had stopped.

Jo sighed, staring into Sam's eyes once more before breaking away, regaining a normal breathing pattern before opening the door. 'Phil?'

'Oh thank God. Can I come in?'

'What?'

'It's Stuart; he's driving me insane. Please Jo.'

'Phil, it's not really a good time.'

'Come on Jo. I could here your screams from down the corridor, don't tell me that in a matter of minutes you're getting on perfectly again.'

'We've got some talking to do Phil. I can't explain to you, I'm sorry, it's just not a good time.'

'Yeah, right, sorry, I just thought maybe… oh don't worry, I'll go find a pub or something.'

'No, wait.'

Both Jo and Phil turned around to face Sam, the blonde meekly standing behind Jo, 'It's fine Phil, come in.'

'Sam, we need to talk.' Jo responded in a hushed whisper, her voice uneven.

'Really Sam, it's fine.' Phil replied, about to turn around again when he heard her voice once more, not an invitation this time, but something else. 'Please Phil, come in.' she was pleading with him.

Phil stopped dead in his tracks, never having heard such a desperate beg from his superior before, sensing immediately that something was wrong. Looking back to Sam he noticed her breathing was rapidly, her cheeks slightly flushed. He hated to even think it, but the thought crossed his mind that maybe Jo had been about to hurt her. Not wanting to take the risk, he stepped past Jo and into the room, a grin on his face masking his fears for Sam. 'Okay, why not.'

'Great.' Jo responded, flashing a glare at Sam before heading towards the bathroom. Once she'd locked the door behind her, the brunette turned the tap on, splashing some cold water in her face prior to settling down on the side of the bath, picking up a bottle of shampoo lying on the floor, assuming it must have fallen out of her make up bag. On closer inspection, she realised it didn't belong to her, frowning slightly as she read the label. Turning it over in her hands, she looked at the front, smiling slightly to herself; she returned it to Sam's shelf.

It wasn't for another fifteen minutes that Jo finally emerged from the bathroom, by that time Phil had left and Sam was seated silently on the bed.

'Sam?'

The blonde looked up, her eyes meeting the brunette's across the room for a split second before she flicked her vision away, inspecting a spot of dust on the tv screen. 'Yeah?'

'Don't you think we should talk?'

'About what?' Sam wondered if she'd be able to play dumb, not wishing to discuss the earlier events.

'About what?' Jo repeated, a confused expression on her face. 'About what happened before Phil interrupted.'

'What? Nothing happened. It was just… there was nothing, alright?'

Jo sensed a slight anger in Sam's tone, but for once, the brunette was relieved to think, it didn't seem to be aimed at her, more the blonde herself. 'There was definitely something Sam, you know that as well as I do.' She responded softly, heading towards Sam and taking a seat next to her, gently placing her hand over the blonde's.

Sam pulled her hand away the moment Jo's rested on it, looking away from the brunette before replying, 'There was nothing, Jo. You're obviously taking it for something it wasn't. Nothing happened.'

Jo rose from the bed, slightly angered at what Sam was saying. Walking around until she was standing just in front of the blonde, she stopped and lowered herself to her knees, lifting Sam's chin up with her finger. 'Look me in the eye and say that.'

Sam tried to move her head to the side, but found Jo's finger was preventing that, meekly, she shut her eyes, not answering Jo at all, just shaking her head slightly.

'Oh, fine. Be like that then.' Jo said, standing once more and walking to the other side of the room. 'If you can't admit when you've got feelings for someone, Sam, you're not the person I thought you were. It's almost midnight, I'll change in the bathroom.' She concluded, pulling her pyjamas out of the wardrobe before entering the en-suite and slamming the door behind her.

Sam glanced towards the bathroom, ensuring Jo had definitely shut the door before lying on the bed, rolling onto her stomach and allowing her built up tears to finally leave her eyes, burying her head deeper into the duvet to muffle the sobs.

Jo stood at the door to the bathroom, listening to a few covered cries from Sam. She pursed her lips and shut her eyes, a few tears creeping into them as she thought of Sam crying alone in the next room, knowing even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to comfort her.

Pulling herself together, Sam walked over to the wardrobe and hunted out her own pyjamas before strolling back over to the bed and pulling off her jumper.

Jo strained her hearing, relieved to find she could no longer hear Sam's sobs. Moving away from the door, the brunette decided to actually get changed, calling out to Sam when she'd finished to check the blonde was decent. After hearing a muffled 'hang on' followed by a 'yep, done' a few seconds later, Jo re-entered the bedroom, looking over to the bed where she found Sam seated on it, frowning as she looked at the duvet.

'I'll call room service.' She provided, causing the blonde to frown at her.

'Eh?'

'See about getting two duvets.'

'Oh… right… yeah… thanks.' Sam stuttered, her gaze flicking involuntarily around the room.

'Well, unless you want to…' Jo left her statement hanging open, allowing Sam to interpret it as she wished.

'No, two duvets would be good, thanks.'

'Okay.'

Forty minutes and two very strange conversations with the hotel receptionist later and Sam and Jo were both attempting to settle down in the bed, now adorned with two single duvets as a pose to the double one previously draped across it.

Jo lay back; her only hindrance from becoming comfortable was the restless body beside her. Sighing, she shut her eyes, hoping that the blonde would settle down soon. After a while, Jo felt Sam's body edging away slightly. At first she put it down to the blonde being uncomfortable, but after a while her superior shifted again. Shutting her eyes once again, Jo attempted to ignore it, soon drifting off into sleep.

As Sam shifted further away from Jo once again, she felt her body becoming off balance, the blonde belatedly realising she'd moved too far, the DI ending

Up falling to the floor with a crash.

The sound of Sam's body hitting the carpet woke Jo with a start, the brunette blinking rapidly; initially unaware of her surroundings, though soon remembering where she was, and who she was with. Shifting her body over to where Sam had previously been lying, Jo leaned over the edge of the bed, frowning as she looked down to an embarrassed Sam on the floor.

Shaking her head slightly, the brunette sighed. 'You're pathetic, Sam, y'know that. You're so scared of what could happen that move so far away from me you end up on the floor. Well, you can stay down there. Here.' She removed the blonde's duvet from underneath her, dropping it on top of the woman on the floor, 'You might need this.' She concluded, rolling back over and shutting her eyes, a tear or two finding their way into them once again.

Sam grappled at the duvet, emerging from the white blanket a few seconds later, rising to her knees as she rested an elbow on the bed, her other hand reaching out to Jo's shoulder. 'Jo, I… I'm… I didn't… I'm…'

Jo shook the blonde's hand off her shoulder, moving back towards her side of the bed. 'Leave it, Sam. I don't want to hear you're excuses.'

'Jo… please…'

'Save it for someone who cares, Sam.' Jo concluded, the blonde flopping back onto the floor at that statement, not quite sure what she would say even if Jo allowed her the chance.

Jo sunk into the bed, burying her head in a pillow in an attempt to muffle the tears betraying her strong façade. Her mind kept flicking back to the time they came so close to kissing, wondering if she would ever feel that connection again, but every time she thought of that, she was also reminded of the numerous rows prior to, and as a consequent of, that one moment she'll probably never forget.

Sam lay silently on the floor, her shoulder aching from her fall. On any other day she'd probably be up again, walking off the pain in her nearby park, but the circumstances didn't allow for that, not only was she too tired from everything that had happened between herself and Jo, but also she had no idea where the nearest park was, or even if there was one.

Jo allowed herself to succumb to the sleep her body needed, knowing if Sam was right the next two days activities revolving around an army style assault course she was going to need all the sleep she could get.

Just before Sam finally drifted of to sleep, she could have hazarded a guess at the time being about three am, meaning she'd have way to little if she's was required to do anything when she woke. She'd been attempting to sleep for the past two and a half hours, but with her mind constantly darting back to what almost happened with Jo earlier, she found herself too distracted to sleep until she really could stay awake no longer.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As requested by a few reviewers, I hope you realise I was slaving over this until one o'clock this morning for you guys! And thanks for the reviews, as always!

* * *

Jo climbed off the bus, struggling to see into the field they'd stopped outside.

'I knew it. It's the place we drove past. It's gonna be awful, really awful.' Jo turned to her right to see Sam standing next to her, her head tilted slightly to the left. Jo headed towards the rest of the group, causing Sam to sigh as she followed the brunette. Resting a hand on her arm, Sam stopped Jo just before they reached the others. 'Jo, can we just talk quickly, please, just 2 minutes.'

'I said all I needed to last night Sam, there's nothing more I want to say to you.'

'Well, there's stuff I want to say to you.'

'Not stuff I want to hear, Sam. We should be over there.' She concluded, heading towards the group of other officers that had already entered the field.

'Jo…' Sam called, almost running to keep up with the quick strides Jo wads taking.

'Save it, Sam.' the brunette joined Phil, preventing Sam from continuing the conversation, the blonde whispering her annoyance before finding herself joined by Stuart.

'All right Sam. I wouldn't bother with her y'know. Be careful around her an' all, y'know, what with her being…'

'A lesbian? It doesn't bother me.'

'What not that she might… y'know… try it on with you… you're sharing a bed aren't you?'

'We're fine Stuart. I'm not worried that she's going to _try it on with me' _She mimicked his previous statement, strolling off and leaving him contemplating the meaning of that admission. 'Not any more.' She added quietly to herself, sighing slightly. The time they almost kissed was constantly playing on her mind. Every time she thought of it she wished she hadn't been scared, that she'd let Jo love her.

'_Anything you want to share?'_

'_Oh, nothing particularly important, just wondering what we'll be doing on this weekend.'_

'_Oh. Dunno really, but I did notice something that looks suspiciously like a makeshift army training centre about five minutes walk from here when we drove past.'_

'_Oh no. They wouldn't, would they?'_

'_Wouldn't put it past them.' Sam concluded, lying back down on the double bed._

'Oi, Sam.' Jo called over her shoulder, the blonde instantly jogging to catch up with her.

'Jo.' She replied, a smile adorning her face, hoping Jo had forgiven her.

'Makeshift army training centre.'

'Eh?'

'You said this was a makeshift army training centre.'

'Well, yeah, it looks like one.'

Jo frowned, studying the objects dotted around the field. 'What, are the army five now?'

'Eh?'

'Sam, it looks more like a kids playground.'

'No it doesn't, it… it looks…' Sam paused, contorting her face slightly as she tried to figure out what it actually looked like.

Jo tilted her head to the side, her eyes scanning the field. First, there was what looked a little like a roundabout. Then, some of those little tunnel things kids have in soft playgrounds, then there was a rope swing. She couldn't quite figure out what part of that made an army training centre in Sam's eyes.

'It looks like…' Sam continued, still hopelessly racking her brains to find a similarity. 'It looks like a…'

'Small recreational area I would take my six year old niece?' Phil interrupted, the sergeant having walked back to where the two women had stopped.

'Thank you!' Jo grinned.

'Phil! It doesn't.' Sam replied defensively, 'It looks like a…'

'Very tedious way of spending a weekend?' Stuart asked, finally having caught up the three grouped officers.

'Well, yes, but… well that's not what I meant.' Sam stuttered, her head flopping to the side as she studied the area. 'It looks like a…'

'Hell hole?' Terry suggested, having heard their conversation and stopped to join in.

'Yes… but that's not what I was going to say. It looks like a…'

'Great way of spending a weekend, I'm looking forward to this, aren't you guys?' Kezia asked enthusiastically, having just caught up with the other officers and missed the rest of the conversation.

'No!' they all answered, turning around to face her with quizzical expressions on their faces.

Kezia smiled slightly, shrugging before walking off to the centre of the field.

'It looks like a…' Sam paused, staring blankly at the field.

'Typical bloody management training weekend.' Jack provided, looking about as enthusiastic about this as he would a full body wax.

'Mmm.' They all nodded in agreement, without of course Kezia who was still admiring the field in awe.

'Yeah, but, it looks like a…' Sam continued, attempting to finish her sentence for herself, everyone seeming to have a chance but her.

Jo sighed, tilting her head to the side again. 'Very boring place, now come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we can go.' She concluded diplomatically, heading towards Kezia and the instructor in the middle of the course.

Everyone sighed, following Jo's lead and walking over, crowding around as the instructor began.

'Okay guys, in Ben, now, as I can gather from your conversations on the way here, you're not looking forward to it.' he smiled as a guilty nod went around the group. 'Well, I'm hoping to change that. So, basically what we'll be doing here is a bunch of tem-building tasks that should leave you bonded by the end of your stay.' After inspecting the reactions of Sam, Jo, Phil and Stuart he added, 'Or at the very least leave you with such embarrassing memories that you'll have little choice but to be nice to each other for risk of the entire work force finding out about what you did here.'

'Mmm, that's more likely.' Jo provided, resulting in three nods from the surrounding adults.

'Well, at least you can all agree on that, I suppose that's a start.' He had more enthusiasm in his voice than he felt, he could see that most of the people here really needed it, but he wasn't quite sure if one weekend was enough time for him to change that, by the looks of things these conflicts ran deep.

After receiving no reply other than a disgruntled glare from Sam, he sighed. 'Right, well, I think we'll start with a little activity I like to call the death drop.'

'I know who I'd like to throw down the death drop.' Stuart muttered, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

'Yeah, well the only life you'll be risking is your own. It's an activity I don't do with many groups, but I'm hoping you can be mature enough to put life before petty squabbles.'

'Um, maybe there's a different one we can start with, save that one until later maybe?' Jack suggested, knowing that not even that could be certain given the officers he'd brought with him.

'I think this is as good a place as any to start.' Ben replied, not realising that Jack was concerned about his officers safety, but thinking he was just trying to maintain a little of the control on the weekend.

'On your head be it.' Jack muttered, sighing to himself before groaning, hearing what sounded like the beginning of another argument between Sam and Jo.

'I'm not putting my life in her hands.' Jo stated, shooting a glare at the blonde DI.

'What makes you think I'd make any attempt to keep you alive?'

'That's not how you were acting last night.' Jo retorted, resulting her receiving a scowl from Sam.

'Eh? What's all this then?' Terry grinned, both Jo and Sam sighing as his male brain kicked in.

'Nothing.' Sam answered, 'Jo just can't accept the fact that I'm straight.' Sam stated matter-of-factly.

After a series of 'ooh's from the group, Jo sighed, replying with a simple question she knew only Sam would understand. 'Have a shower this morning, did you?' she asked, referring back to the argument they had the previous night prior to their kiss.

'Yes.' Sam responded, causing a frown to appear on Jo's face.

Jo froze, unsure as to what that comment meant. When she'd asked that question she'd expected Sam to go mental, she'd intended it as an insult and she knew full well that Sam realised that, so why was she responding? Was she… was she flirting?

Jack paused, watching as the two women apparently shared a private moment together, they're eyes locked. It seemed no one else had picked up on it, all returning to their own conversations as they lost interest.

'Okay, well, let's get on with it, shall we?'

'Yes, let's.' Ben continued, taking the lead back from Jack. 'Okay, so the death drop is a short activity that will require you working together as a team in your pairs. You'll need to put your life in the other's hands, and not be afraid to let go of your inhibitions and admit your fear. What you'll be doing is abseilling.' He watched as each face dropped, obviously relieved that it wasn't as life threatening as they'd imagined. 'Blindfolded.' He added.

'Eh?' Stuart called out, shooting his vision from the instructor to Phil. 'No way, he'll kill me.'

'Well, you'll just have to trust that he won't. There is no way that any of you will get through this weekend without the basic trust between two people, this exercise takes trust to the extremes, if you can do this, the entire weekend will be a breeze.'

'I swear, if I end up getting hurt…' Jo warned.

'I wouldn't… I couldn't.' Sam whispered.

Jo didn't respond, not quite sure if there was anything she could say after that. She looked back to Sam, seeing the blonde's lips curl into a smile at the attention Jo was giving her.

* * *

Jo marched back into the bedroom, throwing her water bottle onto the bed before collapsing on it herself, sitting up a little as she noticed Sam hadn't moved since she entered the room. 

Looking at the blonde, Jo found she was standing in front of Jo awkwardly, a nervous smile on her face. 'Yeah?' Jo asked hesitantly.

'I had fun today.' Sam said meekly, unsure of how to approach the subject she wanted to.

'Erm, Sam, you ended up on a forty foot abseilling tower with very little support.'

'You did okay.' Sam lied.

'I dropped the rope three times.'

'Well, yeah, but, other than that…'

'I bet you're covered in bruises.'

'Mmm, a little I think… but…'

'Does it hurt?'

'A bit.' Sam fibbed.

Jo frowned, seeing that Sam was lying. 'Sorry.' She whispered.

'Did you mean to?'

'No! Of course not, I wouldn't. You don't think I'd…'

'No, I don't. I just wanted to make sure. Why are you apologising if you didn't mean to?'

'Well, you just do, don't you?'

'You're meant to apologise if you've done something worth apologising for. Like getting us on a training weekend or something.' Sam commented, hoping Jo wouldn't take it as an offensive statement.

'Is that an apology?' Jo asked warily.

'Yes. I'm sorry.'

'Yeah, well, I'm sorry I blamed you for it, it was no one's fault.'

'Yeah, I know that. And I'm sorry for, er, y'know, being such a cow about it.'

'Yeah. Well, I'm sorry I was too.'

Sam paused, thinking back to the other arguments they'd had in the past two days. 'I'm sorry I got so uptight about sharing a bed.'

'Yeah, well, I'm sorry I called you a bike, that was uncalled for, I shouldn't have.'

'Well, I'm sorry I called you, a, er,' Sam stuttered, thinking back to that row. 'Well, a lesbian.' She concluded, a confused expression falling on her face.

'Er… Not the usual kind of apology, Sam. That was more of a statement than an insult.'

'Yeah, but the way I said it. I shouldn't have.'

'No, it's fine. I'm sorry I brought up your history with Phil and Stuart and stuff.'

'It's nothing.' Sam relied, though obviously it was affecting her somewhat. 'I'm sorry about dinner last night, y'know, the whole asparagus thing. It was petty, I shouldn't have had a go at you.'

'Yeah, and I'm er… sorry for throwing the gravy at you.' Jo added guiltily, obviously embarrassed by both their childish actions.

'Mmm, I'm sorry you missed.'

'Eh?'

'Well, I did deserve it, be fair.'

'Well, yeah, but I still shouldn't have.'

'What's done is done; we can't change what we said. But… I reckon we could try not to make the same mistakes again.'

'What do you mean?'

'Last night. I pushed you away… I shouldn't have.'

'I shouldn't have kissed you.'

'Yeah, you should have. I wanted it just as much as you did, Jo, I was just too frightened to show it.'

'So why the sudden change of heart?' Jo quizzed, staring blankly at Sam and allowing her to reply in her own time.

'I came to my senses. I realised how stupid I'd been. When you yelled at me this morning, when I fell out of the bed, everything just seemed to slot into place. I was an idiot; I should have listened to my feelings ages ago. And now… now I'm scared I'm too late…' Sam left it as a sort of hanging question, praying Jo would reply that she wasn't, but convincing herself deep down that it would be the brunette's answer.

Jo tilted her head to the side, staring into Sam's striking blue eyes. 'It is.'

'What?' Sam was shocked, as much as she'd prepared herself for that, it still hit her hard, she'd told herself that Jo cared enough about her to understand, maybe she'd been wrong.

'I'm sorry. It's just, the things I've said… the things you've said… we've gone too far now. There are things we've said, things we've done that we can't take back. It just wouldn't work.'

'Yeah, I understand…'

'I'm sorry.'

'No big deal. I get what you mean. I just thought, y'know, if you were up for it, it could be a laugh, a bit of fun, but it doesn't matter.' Sam stammered, attempting to persuade herself as much as Jo that this was what she believed.

'Oh, well, we obviously felt different things then.'

'What do you mean?' Sam asked hesitantly, not sure where she was with Jo anymore.

'I mean… I loved… love;' She corrected, 'you. It's something that won't go away, not ever… but, I'll just have to live with that.'

'You won't be alone with that feeling.' Sam whispered, instantly adding to the tense atmosphere already surrounding them. 'Don't do this.'

'It's not that simple, Sam.'

'Yes it is Jo. You just said you loved me… I just… I just said the same thing… what's not simple about that?'

'I've… I've got a history you don't know about.'

'What history?' Sam asked dismissing it immediately in her mind.

'Your cousin…' Jo paused, hoping Sam'd work it out and wouldn't have to be told.

'Cathy?'

'Yeah… Me… her…' Jo pursed her lips, willing Sam to think about what she was saying.

'You know each other?' she asked innocently, hoping Jo wouldn't come out with the answer she was fearing.

'We… we sort of dated… for a bit.'

'Oh, I see.'

'It wasn't like serious or anything… just a bit of fun… but I just thought you should know.' She concluded, looking optimistically at Sam, yet all the while believing Sam was going to go crazy about this little revelation.

'Oh. Well… I… it's… You? Her?' she asked, trying to figure it out in her mind.

'Yeah.' Jo admitted sheepishly, wondering to herself why love ties always had to be so complicated.

'Oh.' Sam headed towards the bathroom, not saying anything else to Jo, just shutting the door and appearing five minutes later in her pyjamas.

The rest of the evening passed painfully slow, neither knowing quite how to break the silence, so both choosing not to. After about three hours of complete silence, Jo rose from the chair she was occupying, pulling Sam's duvet off the floor and onto the bed before placing her own on the floor, grabbing two pillows to accompany it.

'I think it'll be best if I take the floor tonight.' Jo provided, smiling slightly before she turned the light off and lay on the floor, the blonde already snuggled down in the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay, this has been re-written due to me being a complete idiot and forgetting half the plot! So, here it is. Final instalment I'm afraid, I don't really think there's anywhere else I can take this. Thanks for reading and reviewing and everything, it's much appreciated. Oh, and I've changed my penname back again, I get bored easily!

* * *

Sam roused from her slumbering state, leaning over the edge of the bed to see Jo silently sleeping still, her eyes fluttering open slightly as if in a semi-conscious state. Feeling the beginnings of a smile wash over her face, she paused, pursing her lips as she brought herself back down to earth, recalling Jo's little revelation from the night before, the twinkle in her eyes soon disappearing. Feeling it becoming replaced with a tear, she rubbed her blue orbs, gritting her teeth as se pushed her attraction for Jo to the back of her mind, her thoughts now steaming towards the mere idea of her cousin and colleague together. The notion alone was too much for Sam to bear, the blonde climbing out of the double bed and tiptoeing past the snoozing DC, slipping silently into the small en-suite.

* * *

Jo awoke to find herself alone in the room, the sound of running water from the small bathroom the only signs of life around her. Allowing herself time to removed the groggy edge to her vision, she sat up, yawning slightly as she reached around to rub her back, her muscles tense from the hard wood she'd slept on.

Rubbing her temple with the other hand, she sighed, her ears prickling as the shower was turned off, movement from inside the en-suite telling her Sam was about to enter the bedroom. Looking over to the door, she found her vision had flickered there just in time to see the handle move, the blonde that had been continuously occupying her thoughts stepping out encased only in a thin towel. Blushing slightly, Jo looked away, fiddling with her make-up bag she'd thrown in her open suitcase the night before.

'Sorry, did I wake you?'

'Nah. Well, maybe, I'm not sure, but I needed to get up anyway.'

'Well, the bathroom's yours if you want it.' The blonde called awkwardly, settling herself on the bed as she roughly dried her hair with the hand towel, keeping the top half of her arms clad to her sides as she attempted to retain her dignity by keeping the large towel wrapped around her frame.

* * *

'Sam… Sam wait.' Jo called, jogging to keep up with her petite superior.

'We're late Jo, we should have been there ten minutes ago.' Sam replied, not stopping.

'I don't care, cam, we need to talk.'

'Not now, Jo. Leave it 'til later.'

'Yes now, Sam.' Jo responded, grabbing the blonde's arm.

'Please, Jo, I can't do this right now. Let's just get through today and then we can talk this evening.' Sam found herself pulled around to face Jo, the blonde looking down to the floor.

'We'll be going home tonight, Sam, I'm sure you'd prefer to talk here, in private, then on the bus with Phil and Stuart listening in.'

'I can't handle this right now, Jo. Please, we've got to be out there. Just let me do this my way.' She begged, locking eyes with Jo's.

Jo bit her lip, refusing to tear her gaze away from Sam, lost in the moment. 'Okay. Okay, we'll talk later.'

'Thanks.' Sam whispered meekly, smiling slightly before snapping out of her trance, turning away from Jo again and hurriedly walking towards the exit.

'Sam, Jo, you're late.' Jack commented when he saw the two women turn up outside the minibus, the rest of the officers already seated and out of earshot.

'Sorry Guv. We over slept.' Jo responded quickly.

'Sorry Jack. Breakfast was late being served.' Sam replied, cringing to herself when she heard Jo answer at the same time.

Jack frowned at the two women, both blushing furiously at their simultaneous answers making it blatantly obvious they were lying. 'Okay, well just hurry up ad get on the bus.' He concluded, not quite sure how to react to this.

* * *

The five minute journey down to the area they'd been in yesterday, probably not worth the fuel it cost to get them there, was slow, the tension between the two females evident to all those around them, yet most failed to realise the true reasons behind their hostile closeness.

Sam spent her time looking out the window, turning every now and again to look at Jo, frowning slightly when she noted the brunette looked away every time she rotated around.

Jo, on the other hand, spent her time monitoring Sam; embarrassedly looking the other was when Sam looked to her. Her mind was all over the place, she felt out of place when Sam was looking away from her, sensing the blonde's hostile attitude towards her. Yet when she superior did turn around to face her she found herself looking away shyly, feeling caught out, like a small child reaching for a cookie before dinner.

* * *

'Right guys, today we're going to be carrying on from the activity you did yesterday.' After hearing a series of groans from all the officers he added, 'Well if you'd stopped arguing yesterday, then maybe we would have got you all up the tower and wouldn't have to be doing it again today. As it was we had three accidents…' He paused, raising his eyebrows at Sam and Jo who both blushed. 'And two people more interested in the other teams then keeping each other alive.' Phil and Stuart both smirked slightly at this, knowing Ben was referring to them. 'So I'd appreciate it if today the two of you could focus on what you're doing as opposed to what's happening with Jo and Sam. Okay, you all know where the equipment is now, so go and get yourselves set up and I'll be over shortly.' He concluded, walking over to the small hut in the field, finding himself joined by Jack.

'Just a little word of advice.' Jack begun, smiling slightly as he heard Ben sigh. 'You'll never stop Phil and Stuart being more interested in Sam, that's just a fact of life I'm afraid.'

'Well, you might find you're not able to, Jack, but I'm sure I'll manage it.' He answered smugly.

'Trust me, those two have had a rivalry over Sam since the day Stuart arrived, it's not something anyone can change.'

'That's as maybe, but I think Sam's affections belong elsewhere.' His lips curled up into a smile as he saw Jack's face, taking great pleasure in winding the male up, seeing him as a rival fro authority.

'What's that meant to mean?'

'Her partner, Jo, the two of them seem to have a fiery relationship with each other.'

'Fiery is probably an understatement. They've never really had the best of working relationships, but recently it's become worse, they can't seem to help arguing with each other, that's the reason they're here.'

'Hmm, I heard they were sharing a bed.'

'Technically not, I think one of them spent the nights on the floor.' Jack was starting to doubt himself; the odd moment between Sam and Jo he'd witnessed this weekend telling him Ben could be right.

'If that's what they say… I've seen a fair bit of tension between the two of them this weekend.'

'I think it would be best for you to stay out of my officer's business in future, you're only here this weekend to supervise, not to stick your nose in other's lives.'

Touched a nerve have I, Jack?'

'No. I just like my officers to be able to come away on a weekend without others spreading rumours about them.' Jack concluded, marching back towards the group of people clustered around the field, setting up their abseiling equipment. Jack sighed as he got closer to Phil and Stuart.' 'Stuart, you've got that on backwards.' He commented. Phil sniggered at this, earning himself a glare from Stuart.

'Right, hurry up you two, Phil, you're first up the tower today, Stuart, be careful this time.' He warned, remembering Phil's attempt up the tower yesterday, Stuart deliberately dropping the rope on a couple of occasions before Ben intervened and ended the session there.

* * *

'Jo, you coming for dinner?' Sam called from the bathroom, applying the finishing touches to her make-up.

'I thought maybe we could talk now.'

'It's the last dinner, Jo. Jack said he's planned something, we should at least go down.'

'Hmm yeah, I guess.'

The blonde ran her fingers through her hair once more before deciding she was finished, stepping out of the en-suite to find Jo sitting on the bed. 'Ready?'

'Yep, you?' Jo asked, flicking her vision up to Sam momentarily before looking away again, making a mental note of how stunning Sam looked wrapped in the flimsy fabric of her dress. She felt her heart skip a beat as her brain meandered; thinking to herself how much better it would look on the floor. Pushing her steamy thoughts to the back of her mind, she offered a small smile to Sam.

'Yes.' Sam hissed, hoping her efforts to dress up might have provoked at least a small reaction from Jo, not realising she'd inspired such a strong, well hidden, one.

'Come on then.' Jo rose from the bed, heading towards the door without a second glance at Sam, knowing her hormones wouldn't withstand another sighting of the blonde's gorgeous form.

* * *

Taking a seat opposite the blonde, Jo tucked her legs underneath the table, opening the menu handed to her.

'This is nice, isn't it?' Jack asked awkwardly, watching as Terry glared at Kezia, their disastrous attempts evidently still running close to the surface, Kezia's enthusiasm maybe a little too prominent, Terry finally snapping at her half way up the tower, Kezia freaking out and almost dropping the rope. The older male moved his vision further down the table, seeing Stuart and Phil treat each other with the same contempt Terry and Kezia were, their abseiling destined for disaster from the very beginning. It was, however, odd to see that the tension he noted between Sam and Jo at the end of the table appeared not annoyance, but something possibly a little more sexual, the blonde finding it hard to meet Jo's eyes without a blush reaching her cheeks. Jack chook his head, deciding he was reading far too much into it, probably steaming from Ben's accusation earlier that day.

After a series of murmured 'Yes's from the officers, Jack let out a sigh, wondering if the entire meal was going to be with uncomfortable. Looking back to Jo and Sam, he found his face crinkling slightly as he saw Jo look away, a guilty expression crossing her face, a hushed murmur from Sam apparently prompting this reaction, but his two female officers were too far down the table for his to hear this provocation.

* * *

'Sam…'

'Leave it, Jo.'

'We agreed.'

'It's not a good time.'

'There's never gonna be a good time, Sam.'

'I'm trying to pack.'

'I would try, but I can't until I know what's going on between us.'

'There's nothing going on between us.' Sam snapped defensively.

'Okay, I need to know what's going on in your head then, I need to know if there's a chance for the two of us.'

'It's not the right time.'

'And when is the right time?'

Sam paused, turning around from her suitcase thrown on the bed to face the brunette. 'I don't think there will be one.'

'Then it doesn't matter if we talk about it now or in ten years time, you're never gonna feel totally at ease with it, why put it off?'

'Because I don't know what to say.' Sam admitted timidly.

'Just tell me what you feel, tell me honestly.'

Sam faltered, seemingly at a loss of what to say. 'I think I'm in love with you.'

'Okay, and do you want to act on those feelings?'

Sam sighed, shutting her eyes briefly. 'Is that is? Is that all you can manage? I mean, someone tells you something like that you're expected to share your own feelings, not act like some counsellor.'

Jo delayed, wondering whether acknowledging her own feelings would help the blonde, hinder any further admissions, or just be plain weird. 'I guess I love you too.'

'You guess?' Sam paused, hoping to provoke a reaction from Jo. 'Well, how romantic.' She murmured, turning back to her suitcase and throwing a further two shirts and one pair of shoes in it.

'You brought way too many clothes with you.' Jo commented dreamily, walking over to stand behind Sam. 'I do love you. I just didn't know how you'd take it.'

'Bit late for that now, Jo, you showed your true feelings a minute ago.

'This is what I feel, Sam, I swear to you. I love you, with every cell in my body. I love your beauty, your weaknesses, your strengths, everything.'

Sam paused, frowning slightly before turning around to face the brunette. 'Really?' She questioned dubiously, relaxing slightly as Jo wrapped her arms around her waist.

'Yes.'

'Oh.' Was all Sam could manage, her mind spinning. 'Good.' She mumbled as she closed the small gap between herself and Jo until she could no longer tell where her body ended and Jo's begun. Tilting her chin up slightly, the blonde allowed her lips to meet Jo's, the DI instantly relaxing even further into the embrace. It took a few moments for Sam's brain to register, but when it did she pulled back, turning away from Jo.

'What is it?' Jo asked, praying it wasn't going to be another moment when the blonde denied her feelings.

'Cathy.' Sam breathed reluctantly, her mind refusing to let go of the thought of her cousin and her… well, her Jo, was the title Sam could think of for the brunette.

Jo sighed, knowing Sam too well to think she could solve all her fears with another kiss and a few sweet nothings, instead choosing to sit down on the bed. 'I can't do anything about it now, Sam.'

'I know. It's just… you and her…' Sam stuttered, at a loss as how to explain how it made her feel.

'It was before I met you. I was still living in Manchester at the time.'

'You met her in Manchester?' Sam looked up sharply, turning to face the brunette; she couldn't deny that she hadn't spoken to her cousin in a while, but the last she heard she was still lining in London. When Jo nodded her reply Sam paused. 'Where?'

'Just a local club.' Jo replied, slightly more positive as Sam was at least looking at her now. 'We got chatting and…'

'Your place or hers?'

'Does it matter?'

'To me it does.' Sam admitted quietly, holding Jo's gaze until she was certain the brunette would answer.

'Hers.' Jo provided weakly, the obvious strain in her voice at talking about it seemingly unnoticed by Sam, the blonde too caught up in processing this information.

Jo left Sam to her silence for a good ten minutes, but after that it just came plain ridiculous, there's only so long you can continue to ignore someone before they start to get worried. 'Sam, what is it?'

'I thought she still lived in London.'

'What?'

'I haven't spoken to her in a good few years, we had this stupid row one new years eve, but I thought she would have told me if she was moving to a whole different section of the country. I don't even have her number to contact her any more that means.' She added, the last sentence more of a personal observation than a fact Jo needed to know.

Jo paused, wondering whether what she was going to say next was a good idea or not. 'I have her number if you want it. It was from years back so I can't guarantee it's still right, but I can give it to you if you want.'

'You still have her number?' Sam checked she's heard that right, the unmistakable note of jealousy clouding her tone.

'It was from years ago. I haven't spoken to her for a long time. I promise you.'

'Why do you know more about my cousin than I do?' Sam questioned feebly, her voice breaking slightly at the realisation that she didn't know her cousin at all.

'I don't. I hardly know her at all.'

'When was the last time you spoke to her?'

'A few years ago, I'm not sure exactly, probably 19…' Jo trailed off as she thought back, mentally calculating the years. '99 I reckon.'

'Last time I spoke to her was 1995.' Sam confesses, her heart sinking at how long she'd lost contact with the woman.

'I'm sure she'll understand.'

'I wouldn't.'

'I thought you two got in a fight, she's probably feeling the same way as you.'

'When I said fight… well, it wasn't really a fight. Well it was, but it was my fault. I slept with her boyfriend.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah, so you see, it really was my duty to get back in touch with her, she shouldn't have to be the one to call.'

'Well like I said I can give you the number she had back then.'

'Yeah, thanks.' Sam paused, wondering whether to ask what she'd silently been contemplating for a while now. 'If you haven't spoken to her since 1999, how did you know she was my cousin?' She asked timidly, wondering whether the brunette was about to tell her she'd lied and was still in contact.

'When I told her I was a cop she told me she had a cousin in the police. She talked fondly of you. She told me you were called Sam, said you'd apparently made quite a name for yourself in the Met. When I turned up here, found I was working with someone called Sam with a well known reputation I thought back and knew it was too much of a coincidence.'

'She was nice about me?'

'Yeah, told me even when you were little everyone could tell you wanted to be a copper. She said you were close.'

'We were, but I ruined that.' She whispered contemplatively.

'Look, Sam she obviously doesn't hold it against you still or she wouldn't have been so nice about you. It was what, 12 years ago? People don't hold grudges forever.'

'I never knew she was… y'know… I mean, she had a boyfriend.'

'She's bi.'

Sam nodded. 'Any kids?'

'A girl. She might have more now, I'm not sure.'

'How old will she be?'

'Nine.'

'What's her name?'

'Amelie.'

'She always wanted that for a girl.' Sam commented dreamily, obviously thinking back to when they'd talked about such things. 'She had a pen pal for a couple of years when she was little, a French boy called Pierre, he had a younger sister called Amelie, from the moment he told her that was what she wanted to call her kid.'

'That's sweet.'

'She had a kid and she didn't tell me.' Sam remarked.

'She probably just didn't know how to.'

'I guess.'

Jo stood up from the bed, wrapping her arms around Sam's waist, half way in between a friendly hug and a loving embrace, not veering too far to either possibility, not wishing to offend Sam by keeping it too friendly or aggravate her by acting like they were a couple.

'What do we do now?' Sam asked hesitantly, looking fearfully up to the brunette's eyes, the blonde's blue orbs clearly questioning both Jo and herself.

'I can't answer that. What do you want to do?'

'I don't know.' The blonde replied honestly, running one hand down the brunette's cheek. 'I care about you Jo, I really do. But… you and Cathy… it's just… weird.'

'If it helps, Sam, I'll stick by your decision no matter what. I may not want to be apart from you, but if it's what you want I'll respect that.' She stated, tearing her gaze away from the blonde's penetrating icy glare.

'I love you, Jo.' The blonde whispered, her words forcing Jo into turing back to face her.

'You know I love you too.'

'We take this slow?' She asked quietly, looking over Jo's shoulder to the bed behind them.

'Yeah, dead slow.' The brunette responded with a smile, gently turning Sam around and walking her back towards the duvet, tenderly kissing the blonde as she did so.

* * *

Sam curled up to Jo's side, shutting her eyes as the night descended on them, their colleagues and their minibus. Jo smiled to herself, watching the sleepy blonde soften intimately with her, despite the presence of other officers. It didn't take the brunette long to notice the burning gazes in her direction, Jo looking back down the minibus she was sitting at the front of to see everyone else on the small vehicle watching the pair intently. She smiled wryly as Phil winked, the brunette content to let Phil think Sam was just too tired to know what she was doing. 


End file.
